Speeches by Edwards.

“I beg to move amendment 276, to clause 38, page 42, line 41, at end insert— “(aa) the progress towards the targets set out in the Mansion House Agreement (2025) and the state of the supply pipeline of qualifying assets;”. To clarify the extent of the review to be conducted before the “mandation” power is deployed. It i…”

“I beg to move amendment 278, in clause 41, page 49, line 26, at end insert “and only after VFM assessments are available to the Trustees as part of the decision making process.” This amendment would restrict external transfers until VFM assessments are available to ensure that Trustees can carry out their fiduciary dut…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendments made: 105, in clause 38, page 43, line 7, at end insert— “(and for that purpose, a provision of the trust deed or rules of the scheme is ‘in conflict’ with provision under this section so far as the former does not allow for the as…”

“Q I want to go back a little and talk about transfer of funds into pools. During the transitional phase there are funds that might have ordinarily been making investments and would have had a set of investment principles and a strategy, and who for 12 months may potentially not be making those decisions. Are there risk…”

“Q I am interested in exactly what you were saying around the two-tier element, partly around the challenge of the fact that there are people who have got the full recompense or equivalent, and you have not. Do you feel that this is an opportunity to change that dial and set the record straight? Obviously, an amendment …”

“Q I am interested in hearing a little more about unlocking surplus and some of the challenges, particularly in the way that it is described or calculated, and what the thresholds might be. Obviously, there is an opportunity, but there is also a balance around conflicts arising when an employer might wish to access the …”

“Q I want to pick up on the changes around DC, and the fact that there are quite a lot of different things—we have talked about value for money, changes in scale and, obviously, default retirement ages. From your perspective, is there a sequencing that needs to happen to make sure that they work, and is that provided fo…”

“Q I just wanted to ask for your reflections on the current levels of funding in the UK compared with other funds. Canada is often touted as having a higher rate of funding. Can you comment on what you think some of the barriers might be? Why is that not happening, and do you think the Bill will address that? Charlotte …”

“And I.”

“I was contacted by my constituents, so thank you for that.”

“Like many Members in this House, I welcome the Government’s industrial strategy and its focus on growth for our local communities. Across Wales, we have a number of former mining towns, which face the challenge of retraining and upskilling their local workforce. My constituency of Tamworth, a former mining town, faces …”

“3. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the industrial strategy, published on 23 June 2025, on Wales.”

“That would be very helpful.”

“I have a question about the ombudsman. We have heard lots of stories—I have been collecting them—about issues that people have had. The ombudsman’s remit was expanded in December 2024 to cover businesses with up to 50 employees, and some other criteria. It is very difficult for businesses to feel that they get them res…”

“The Committee has heard a lot about the issues around business energy, and we have been pursuing this as one of our lines of inquiry. One thing I have uncovered is not just that there are problems between perhaps where Ofgem is sitting and how it is regulating suppliers at that level, but also that we have brokers that…”

“Coming back to energy, the recent review that was done by Ofgem, which was 80 pages long, mentioned business once, in one paragraph. From a regulatory perspective, we have a huge number of customers out there paying exorbitant amounts, with absolutely no price cap, and previously with nowhere to turn to—and we will get…”

“This is for the CMA. I am very interested in the situation that is going on in the business energy market at the moment. I think that many people feel that this is not a market that is functioning. While there is competition, the question mark would be next to whether there is real competition and how it is benefiting …”

“Do they have enough resource for this? These are complex contracts. These are not like the domestic market. They have gone from, basically, doing the domestic market to doing really complicated business contracts. Are they capable?”

“What is the response from the water industry around this point?”

“I am interested in the water industry and the energy industry, and how we have ended up with some quite impressive staff bonuses and packages for CEOs and others. If we take energy, for example, the big six energy companies have received £58 million in salaries, bonuses and fees. The CEO of British Gas had £4.3 million…”